Minotaurs remain unbeaten with win against Crusaders

On a beautiful sunny afternoon in Mullingar this past Sunday, the Westmeath Minotaurs American Football Club vanquished the Crusaders from Kildare 34-8.

Going into this game both teams had laid low their previous opponents with convincing wins. Seeking to maintain undefeated records, the game’s pre-game vibe intensity was palpable.

The Crusaders were out to prove that they were a force to be reckoned with in AFI Division 1 since their promotion after taking home the Division 2, 2019 championship. Knocking off the Minotaurs would be a statement win to the rest of the division and American Football Ireland (AFI) as a whole. The Minotaurs would have none of that.

The first quarter saw both teams probing for weaknesses to exploit. The first couple of offensive series resulted in no points in a back-and-forth defensive battle. The Minotaurs eventually found success on the ground behind offensive tackle J O Coyne, guard Sean McCormack, and center Colin Regan.

These three began blasting huge gaps in the Crusader defensive array allowing Rafa Monteiro to rack up huge yardage totals along with two scores. On the defensive side the Minotaur defense bent but never broke throughout the entire game. Minotaur defenders consistently came up with big plays when it was needed to thwart every Crusader attempt at salvation.

Rookie Peter Dempsey stole his second pass of the season while veteran Dean Johnston intercepted a pass at the line of scrimmage resulting in a sprint for the goal line that saw the defensive lineman knocked out of bounds just one yard short of big man bliss.

With the run game hitting on all cylinders, the passing game opened up. On cue, the wide receiver corps of Jack Lynch, Dermot Corroon, Alan Campbell, and Sean Dalton began the steady dismantling of the Crusader defense with passes from Joe Kinahan connecting deep and everywhere in between. Jack Lynch again pulled in over 100 yards receiving in what is becoming standard operating procedure for the veteran.

The Crusaders eventually got over the wall and scored one touchdown but it came late and wasn’t enough to make inroads into the large Minotaur point lead. The Minotaurs take on the West Dublin Rhinos in the final game of the mini-season with the intent of finishing undefeated on the year.

This final 2021 game is at the Mullingar Rugby Club on Sunday, October 3 at 12pm.